The Arrangement
by snarkysweetness
Summary: August wants nothing more than to make up for his past mistakes. This is pure family fluff and features lots of Emma and August behaving like the old married couple that they are.


**Title:** The Arrangement  
**Author:** snarkysweetness  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Characters:** Emma, August, Whale, & Snow; Emma/August  
**Summary:** August wants nothing more than to make up for his past mistakes. This is pure family fluff and features lots of Emma and August behaving like the old married couple that they are.  
**Warnings:** May cause cavities.  
**Disclaimer:** I own nothing.  
**Author's Notes:** IDEK where this came from, I just think that August would be the best father, so I needed some Booth Family Fluff. As always, thanks to my wife for the beta.

"Are you sure that's it, Whale? It looks more like a sea monkey."

"It does not look like a sea monkey, its beaut-"

"Shut up, it looks like an alien sea monkey."

"No it-Whale, tell her that's the baby and not a sea monkey." August pointed towards the small figure on the screen. Sure, he had to squint to see it properly, but it was clearly a baby and not some sea creature. "For someone who's done this before, you'd think she'd know what a baby looks like."

Emma rolled her eyes.

"I've never seen a baby that small. The last time I did this I didn't have some overprotective jackass hovering over me day and night."

Now it was August's turn to roll his eyes.

"No, you were just five months pregnant in a jail cell because appare-seriously, who waits five months to take a pregnancy test?" He asked Whale. While most people would have found the entire situation awkward, he seemed to be enjoying every moment of it. He turned his attention back to his overly stubborn wife. "And you should be happy that I actually give a damn. Or would you rather I leave you pregnant and alone to go adventuring between the lands like ol' Captain Hook does to your precious little adopted sister?"

Emma opened her mouth to retort but a snort from Whale interrupted their old married couple banter. Emma shot him a glare, reminding the man that even if he wasn't from her land, she was still the future Queen and he promptly cleared his throat while averting her gaze.

"Whale? Tell her that's our kid and not an alien."

Whale took another moment compose himself before speaking.

"That is in fact a fetus-"

"Baby," August corrected. No one was allowed to refer to his child as a 'fetus'. He was already in love with his child and had been long before he managed to convince his bull-headed wife to finally take a pregnancy test.

The damn woman lived in a world of denial and it frightened him to think what she would do without him there to break through that thick skull of hers.

"Right, 'baby'." August wanted to punch Whale sometimes and if he wasn't the only doctor in town, he would. "You're about seven wee-"

"See, I told you it was way too early-"

August groaned.

"No, it's not. I'd rather be safe, Emma. I'm not having anything happen to you or the baby because you're stubborn. And would you let the man fini-"

"Woah, hey there, buddy. Don't interrupt me. Whale, tell him he's being too overprote-"

"I am no-"

"Your Majesties!" Whale waited until they stopped bickering and he had their attention once more. "Why don't we just-" Whale motioned towards the ultrasound machine and Emma huffed while crossing her arms.

"Fine."

"As I was saying; you're only about seven weeks along, everything looks fine, and your husband is right, it's never too early, Your Majesty; especially when you're the Sheriff. I'm going to write you up a prescription for some prenatal vitamins and I'll get one of the nurses to print you up a picture to take home and show off. Now, do you have any questions before I go?"

"Yeah, I have-"

Emma held her hand up to cut August off.

"No. Run while you can, Whale, or he'll talk your ear off for days."

Whale chuckled.

"Count yourself lucky. He's right, you know, most women would love to have their partners this invested."

"You would know."

August shook his head and he and Whale both ignored his wife's moment of snark.

"Well, I'm not one of those men, so get used to it, Princess."

Whale chuckled to himself as he left and once they were alone August leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"I love you," he whispered as she pulled her shirt back down, frowning at the goopy gel still on her flesh. He ran his hand over the very small bulge on her belly as his eyes looked over the image on the screen. "This is really happening, huh?"

"Are you crying?"

Emma pulled away from August and snorted.

"No, maybe my voice is breaking a litt-"

"Stop being such a girl! It's just a kid and we already have Henry, it's not like this is some big deal. I don't know why you're so worked up about this."

"I'm worked up because to me this is a big -"

"Ugh. Whatever. Just help me up, would you? I have to pee. Some asshole I know knocked me up and now the kid things my bladder is a Barcalounger."

August let out a deep, slow sigh while reminding himself that he'd married her knowing what a pain in the ass she could be. He then took Emma's hand and helped her off of the exam table. When he tried to lead her out of the room, she brushed him off.

"I can go pee by myself, August."

He groaned.

"Right…I love you!"

Maybe if he kept saying it out loud she'd be less frustrating.

Once she was out of eyesight he let out another long sigh. He could tell this was going to be a very long pregnancy.

Later that day, August dropped Henry off with his father so they could have 'bonding' time, but he knew that they were secretly building a crib for the new baby. He played along with it all because he knew it would make Henry happy and before Emma had gotten pregnant, Henry had been the biggest joy in his life. Now, he supposed, he would have another one.

Not bad for a man who had been carved from wood.

August's Saturdays were usually spent in Geppetto's shop with the kid, but August wanted nothing more than to spend an afternoon with his stubborn wife, so he left them to their 'secret' project and stopped to get Emma's favorite ice cream before heading home.

As he approached the apartment he was surprised to hear voices coming through the door. Knowing Emma, he'd expected to come home to find she'd disobeyed orders to take her weekends off and gone back to the station, which would inevitably lead to an argument when he went to retrieve her.

So it was a pleasant surprise when he heard Emma's voice on the other side of the door.

"He's just being so _wonderful _about all of this. It's new to me. I mean…I don't know, I just…part of me keeps expecting him to like freak out but he's just so _happy_!"

"Of course he's happy, Emma, he _loves_ you."

He recognized Snow's voice and leaned in closer to the door, straining to hear more of their conversation.

"I know he does, but it doesn't change the fact that I'm afraid he'll leave. They all leave. That's been the only consistent thing in my life."

August could hear her sniffling and he closed his eyes while trying not to let the fact that she was crying affect him too much. He needed to get used to a crying Emma, hormones and all that, and he couldn't freak out every time it happened. Though, he did hate that she was crying because of him.

"Emma, he married you, and he loves Henry like he's his own. I get that every other man in your life has failed you, I do. And I get that August was one of them at one point, but he's not going to leave you. Not again."

He could picture Emma shooting her mother a glare.

"You know that's not why I think…I know why he…it's just, Henry's dad didn't exactly-"

"August isn't-" Snow sighed. "August is not going anywhere. He's already a great father to Henry, Emma. He's going to be just as great with this new baby.

And you have to remember that just because he loves Henry doesn't mean that having his own child, a child that he gets to be there for every step of the way, isn't appealing to him. You should cut him some slack. This is all new for him. I know you've been through it, but he hasn't. Let him have this; let him be excited."

"What if he's just…what if this is just because he feels guilty about leaving me in jail while I was pregnant with Henry? What if he's freaking out but he's pretending to be happy because he's trying to make up for something?"

August's heart clenched and dropped to the pit of his stomach. He remembered the guilt he'd felt upon meeting Henry and after doing the math realizing she'd been pregnant when he'd left her in that detention center. His tough love approach had worked but he would always regret what it had cost her. He'd never forgive himself for his mistakes but Emma had, which was enough for him.

He'd have been satisfied living the rest of his life with just her and Henry, so this gift of a new child, a fresh start for them, was beyond anything he ever thought he'd be lucky enough to receive.

It killed him that she would think his happiness was tainted with deceit.

"Emma-" Snow began in a disapproving voice.

August decided he'd had enough and opened the door, alerting them to his presence.

"Hello beautiful," he announce before leaning down to press a kiss to Emma's lips. He pretended not to notice her tear-stained cheek. "Snow," he said, greeting his mother-in-law with a wink and a kiss to the cheek.

"August. I hear you got my daughter pregnant."

August took his groceries into the kitchen as Emma quickly wiped at her eyes. He smirked as he pulled the ice cream out of the bag.

"You heard correctly."

"Is that ice cream?" Emma asked in a quiet, puppy voice. He glanced up and smiled at the small pout she sent his way.

"Yes it is, Princess. Two bowls coming right up."

Emma beamed.

"You're the best."

"I know."

That night, August held Emma against his chest with one arm wrapped around her middle as he ran his fingers through her long locks.

"You know I'll never leave you; not again. Right?" He whispered, brushing his lips across her temple.

Emma glanced back over her shoulder, meeting his eyes.

"I know. I would have never let you talk me into marrying you if I didn't."

August lowered his head down and placed a soft kiss on her lips.

"I know you think I just feel guilty and I do, but I love you, Emma. I love you more than anything," he whispered, brushing some of her hair back so he could stare into her beautiful hazel eyes. "And my guilt isn't anything…it's not because I want to make anything up to you, it's because I wish I'd been there for everything, Henry especially. I love you both, Ems, and I promise I'm always going to be here for you, Henry, and for the baby."

He moved his hand down her body and splayed it over her belly.

Emma turned over onto her back and reached up to cup his cheek, a small smile forming on her lips.

"You're such a girl about this baby stuff," she teased after a long moment.

August pulled her against him and kissed her fiercely.

"You bet your ass I am," he growled. "But I'm also a man who's going to make sure you stop being stubborn and that you take good care of my baby."

"Your baby?"

"Yes, mine. And you're going to do that by letting me take care of you."

Emma laughed.

"So what you're saying is that you want to be the boss?"

"For the next seven to eight months, yes I do. You don't listen to anyone, you eat only when people remind you to, and when you do, it's all crap. And you need to stop running down the damn stairs all the time when you're running late. You're going to start eating three meals a day and they're going to be healthy meals, you're going to take those vitamins Whale gave you, and you're not going to put yourself in danger by being careless. And when you're nice and fat, you're going to take time off of work to let me wait on you hand and foot."

She wrapped her arms around his neck and smirked.

"Is that all?"

"No, I'm sure I'll think of more. But you get to be in charge every single day of our lives, Princess, the least you can do is let me take over when you're busy growing our little sea monkey."

"Now it's a sea monkey?"

"Shut up," he commanded before leaning down and capturing her lips with his own. He took his time to explore her mouth and when she began to paw at him, he pulled away, letting his lips linger near hers.

"I don't want lose you again, Ems. And I don't want to lose the little sea money either. I just want to keep you both safe; Henry too."

August moved his hand up to her cheek and caressed her skin. Emma closed her eyes, leaning into his touch for a minute before opening her eyes and brushing her lips over his.

"August, we're going to be fine. Nothing-" She sighed. "Don't you think we've been through enough? I think we're due for a little happiness." He opened his mouth to speak but Emma cut him off. "_But_, if it will make you feel better, then you can you can feed me oatmeal and juice and stuff and rub my poor, pregnant feet."

"Your feet aren't pregnant."

"_All_ of me is pregnant. And if I'm going to allow you to be the boss off me until I push this sea monkey out then I have one condition."

He tucked another loose piece of her hair behind her ear before moving his hands to rest at her sides.

"And what's that, Princess?"

Emma bit her bottom lip while looking utterly adorable and after she'd thoroughly distracted him finally spoke.

"I'm going to require a lot of sex. I mean _lots_ of it. I'm going to be hormonal and crazy and feeling unsexy all the time and," she sighed before giving him a big pout, "I'll just need you to constantly give me orgasms to make me feel like I'm not fat and gross to you."

August smirked and kissed her again. She could never be fat and gross to him; in fact, he couldn't wait to see her body swollen with his child. But he'd hold back on the romantic talk, for now. Emma could only handle so much of it in one day and if she was insisting on playing this game, he'd comply, just for her happiness.

"Well, then I suppose I should start fulfilling my end of our arrangement right now; I don't want you to feel unsexy in any way, Princess."

She laughed and pulled him on top of her. Wrapping both arms around his neck, she drew him in for another kiss.

"I think I'm going to like this arrangement."


End file.
